


The Boy Next Door

by rosegardenlake



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Past Shadam - Freeform, allurance, and kosmo cant stop 'helping', beach au, just a fun day on the beach, shiro is the disaster gay we all know he is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 17:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16454000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegardenlake/pseuds/rosegardenlake
Summary: Keith's having a hard time with the idea of moving.  He's going to miss the desert; that's where his heart belongs.  Not this, not the ocean.  But when he sees the boy next door, friendly smile on his face, holding a surfboard underneath a muscular arm, Keith thinks that will probably help.In which Shiro has the worst (best) friends and everyone is Keith and Shiro's matchmaker, even Kosmo.Based on Synne's beach AU!!





	The Boy Next Door

A heavy sigh passes through Keith’s lips before he can stop it.  They’ve been cooped up on these same seats in this same car, driving for almost another entire day now and he and his parents are all very tired of it.  Kosmo too. Keith pretends he’s only sighing about that - the pounding headache in the base of his skull, the tightness of his cooped up limbs - but he knows his parents know him too well to fall for that.

The scenery beyond the window is _different_.  Populated.  There are more shops in one of these little shopping centers than there are in the entirety of their small town back in the desert.  He hasn’t even stepped out of the car yet and he’s already a bit overwhelmed.

Keith doesn’t want to be here.  He wants to go _home_ , where home has always been since the first day he was born.  He loves the wide openness of the desert, the warm hues of the sunset hitting the desert mesas in the distance.  It was private there; exclusively _his_.  He already misses the feel of the desert’s dust on his clothes after a long wild drive on his bike through the valley, not...sand and salt and people.

And houses.  There are so many houses squished together so close to each other.  Have they never heard of personal space? He misses their quiet cabin.  The silence was so that you could hear the song of the stars. He had loved it there.

“Keith, look at this,” his mom says from the front.  She tries to keep her voice down because his dad’s asleep in the passenger seat, but there’s excitement brightening the edges of her tone.  Whether it’s fabricated for Keith’s sake or genuine, Keith doesn’t know, but he frowns into it anyway. “Look at all the stores and all the places there are to eat.  You don’t have to live off of convenience store food anymore.”

“Ha, ha,” he grunts into his hand.

“And look - your new school’s down this road.  It’s so close you can just walk to the shopping center.  That’ll be fun. And if you turn right here, you can get to the boardwalk.  I hear they have a lot of festivities always going on there. Concerts on the beach.  We live close enough you can just walk. Cool, huh?”

Nevermind.  She’s definitely being enthusiastic for his benefit.  Keith can’t see Krolia being much of a boardwalk person.  He knows this because he’s not.

“Yeah,” Keith hums, leaning his forehead wearily against the window and watching the sights pass with misery.  “Cool.”

She’s quiet for a moment before humming lowly, “I know it’s a big change...but sometimes, change can be a good thing.”

“I know,” Keith says, but he sighs again before he can stop it.  “Everyone loves a beach.”

“Everyone but you,” she says knowingly.  “All I ask is you try to keep an open mind.  The people look friendly here.”

It’s true: the streets are filled with people all wearing smiling faces.  They're so different. They’re dressed funny. All bare arms and legs, exposed to the sun, not hiding from it.  Some people aren't wearing shirts, absorbing the rays, others aren’t even wearing shoes at all. They hold surfboards beneath their arms like they’re as common as purses.

“‘Friendly’,” Keith bites out.  They look more like assholes.

“Who knows?  Maybe you’ll love the ocean.”

“Probably would love it a little more if I knew how to swim,” he mutters lowly, turning his tired eyes down to his phone in his hand.  He’s been scrolling through it so much on this trip that his thumb hurts and he knows there’s nothing new on it, but he’s too restless to care.

All of his friends are on the other end of the screen, together without him, posting pictures as the new year starts at the college he had thought all his life he’d be going to.  His heart tugs at the sight. He didn’t think it’d be possible to miss them this much - it’s not like they were _that_ good of friends - but he’s filled with a sludgy sort of melancholy that he knows is going to be difficult to get over.

Krolia chuckles, still in their conversation.  “You don’t know how to swim, hm? Well, you’re in luck: our neighbor teaches surfing lessons.  Maybe you can learn from him. Your dad and I met him when we were scoping the place out and he seemed very nice.”

He snorts without interest.  “Yeah? Me? A surfer? Hasn’t Dad always said I _repel_ water?  A desert person, not an ocean person.”

She laughs again, voice pitching low in amusement.  “A drama queen above all else it seems. You’ve got to give it a chance, Keith.  I think if you do, you’ll really like it here. You’ll see.” She looks so certain.  She has a little twinkle in her eye.

“Okay.”  He sighs again.  Sharply this time, with every bit of the heaviness he feels weighing in his heart.  But he tries to reign it in. He knows they didn’t exactly want to move either. They all liked it there in the desert.  That was their place, tied in directly to their hearts. It has to be hard for them too.

But Krolia’s face is clear and bright as she looks around at their surroundings.

“We’re here,” Krolia says, slowly pulling the car into an unfamiliar driveway with a moving truck already parked.  “It’ll be nice to get out and stretch our legs, hm?”

She parks the car and turns off the engine.  She turns to say something to Keith when his dad wakes up and grumbles softly, rubbing at his face.  “Wow. Here already?”

“‘Already’?” she chuckles, turning her attention to him and smiling over at him fondly.  “You’ve been asleep for almost four hours.”

“Four hours?  Have I really?  Sorry, Krolia...you could’ve woken me.”  He reaches across the car and rubs at her arm gently, leaning in to kiss her face.

She hums into it.  “I know. I’m okay,” she replies softly, kissing him back even softer.

With a dramatic gurgle, Keith tosses the door open, eager to get out before the hearts start bouncing off his head.  Kosmo perks up from his nap and follows him out loyally, taking their first step out into open ocean air.

Keith’s never been to the ocean before.  He immediately crinkles his nose, turning toward the horizon line against the sky like it has personally offended him.  “It’s _cold_ ,” he says in surprise, rubbing friction into his arms.  “I thought beaches were supposed to be _warm_.  And wow, the air feels...thick somehow.”

He can hear his parents chuckling and murmuring softly in amusement to each other.  Krolia steps out of the car and leans across the hood, watching him through warm eyes.  “We’re not in the desert anymore, Keith.”

“It’s weird,” he murmurs, looking down at the cracked pavement beneath their feet where grass is peeking its way through.  The house is something he’s a little afraid to face. What if he doesn’t like it? They’re stuck with it.

He kneels down and hugs Kosmo for comfort, who is looking around brightly, wanting to explore.  At least someone’s happy.

He feels a warm hand pat his back and he looks up to see his mom’s face.  His dad is already unpacking stuff from the moving van, smiling over with that knowing twinkle.

Keith gets to his feet, trying to wipe the displeasure from his expression.

“You’ll be fine,” she hums, clapping her hands to his shoulder.  “Give this place a chance, huh? I’m sure you’ll like it out here too, Keith.”

It’s so... _new_ .  He might’ve been exaggerating about not knowing how to swim at all, but he is definitely not used to the ocean.  It’s not that he’s not used to sand being everywhere, but this sand seems _different_.  It’s all...flat yellow.  It doesn’t have the richness of the desert, the burning razing warmth, or the bold gold hanging from the sky.  He doesn’t even see the sun. It’s cloudy. This isn’t how he pictured it.

But he lets out a sigh of relief when he sees their house.  This he likes. It’s modest and cozy. There’s a porch. He already knows that’s where his dad’s going to set up their wooden rocking chair and, somehow, it debunks a bit of the tension in his heart.

He can hear laughter coming from the house next door and the sound of it is warm and pleasant.  That helps too.

“Can we get some help with the boxes, Keith?”  His dad asks, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Oh.  Right.”  Keith grimaces as he looks into the back of the van at the fifty thousand boxes stacked high into the air.  This is going to take forever even with the three of them. He steps up into the back and grabs a box, taking it with him and following Krolia inside.

The floor squeaks as they enter.  “Your dad and I are going to take the master bedroom, but there are three other rooms you’re free to choose from.  There’s a loft in the back. It has its own bathroom. I think you’ll like that one.”

He looks around at everything curiously.  “The floor is all warped,” he frowns into it.

“Water damage.  We _do_ live right on the beach.  We can fix it if it’s a problem.  Don’t worry so much.” She looks down at it, smiling and nodding to herself.  Keith’s dad comes out from the back room and they both turn hopeful eyes to him.  “Well,” she asks. “What do you think?”

“Um...”  He looks around.  He’s not sure what he thinks.  He’s lived in one home and one home only and this move feels like a slap in the face to his entire past.  “...I think it’ll take awhile to get used to,” he allows. “But it seems nice so far. I mean. We have a t.v.”

“No service yet,” his dad grimaces.  “Sorry, bud. We tried, but someone’s supposed to come out in a few days.  Guess they’re busy.”

“Oh.  Well, uh, things we _do_ have are...a couch,” he says, gesturing toward it.  “A kitchen. ...Bathroom. These are all good things.”  The floor squeaks again and he looks down at it.

“We do,” his dad laughs.  “We have all of those.”

Keith forces a laugh and shrugs.  “Yep. Guess we’re all good here.”

The colors inside are warm.  Keith takes it all in for a moment longer.  His dad’s already set out their grandma’s old rug on the ground and it fits the room almost too perfectly.  It brings Keith comfort. He can already see where they’re going to put the couch and the coffee table and there’s a perfect window seat for Kosmo to lay out on during lazy days.  “...It kind of reminds me of home,” he murmurs softly.

Krolia and his dad both exchange soft relieved smiles.

Krolia steps forward and pats Keith’s shoulder, wheeling him around and walking him through the kitchen.  “Here’s your room,” she says, “if you want it.”

Through the door, there’s a small living space with a bathroom and a tall sturdy ladder that disappears up into what appears to be an attic.  At the back, there’s a door escaping out to the side yard.

“Ah, I can sneak out to visit all my new boyfriends whenever I want.”

“Very funny,” she kneads his shoulders and then pats him again.  “Want me to show you around some more or do you want to be alone?”

“I’m...okay looking myself,” he sighs, rubbing at Kosmo’s head subconsciously as he looks around at their backyard outside.  It’s small. Not like the wide open desert they had before, the plains going off longer than the eye could see.

“Okay,” she whispers, kissing him atop the head before walking out the room.

Keith sighs again, grabbing onto the ladder and heaving himself up.  And his mom was right, like she usually is even if he doesn’t want to always admit it - he likes this room best.  It’s wide and open and private. There’s a window that he can peer out of that overlooks the entire neighborhood and a good windowsill that can house all his cacti he brought from home.  They’ll look great here.

There’s a seat beneath the window and, after inspecting the dead bug carcasses on it, he sits down on the only clean spot on the edge and looks around the space, biting his nails.

Yeah.  He can do this.  Probably. Home is where the heart is in any case, and his parents and Kosmo are here.

“You’re right,” Keith says as he unloads another box of his stuff from the back of the van.  “I do like the loft room.”

“I told you,” she hums.  “Why don’t you get Kosmo to help you get all your stuff up there?  I want you to be careful on that ladder.”

Kosmo teleports him.  He brings his bed while Kosmo is still focused and cooperating.  All the essentials, including each one of his cacti that he places carefully into the sun peeking through the glass.  He inspects them through scrutinous eyes for a moment before leaning over and opening the window.

Air bursts free into the room.  He can see the ocean from here. It’s probably a half minute walk to the beach.  It’s why everything’s coated with sand and the wooden floors are buckling from water damage.  It’s beautiful, in a way. And he figures his parents won’t be stinkers about cleanliness like this and that’s nice.

He leans his head against the windowsill and sighs.  Even though he doesn’t hate the house, he hates change.  Change is...a lot.

“Keith!”  He hears Krolia calling from downstairs.  “I hope you’re not thinking of skipping out on helping us, Mister.  Your dad has to drop this moving van off before tonight.”

“Right,” he calls.  He walks through their house and is about to step back outside when he hears Krolia talking to someone.  Keith knows for a fact that his father is in the kitchen, sorting through the boxes of pots and pans because Keith just passed him up only now.

He frowns, looking back to his dad.  “Who’s she talking to?”

“Oh, our neighbor probably,” he grumbles into the box, pursing his lips at a broken utensil that didn’t survive the trip.  “We’ve met him a few times when we flew up here and were trying to decide on the house. He’s a nice guy. You’ll like him.”

“Sure,” Keith mumbles, patting his pockets as he bides for time.  He’s been feeling grouchy all day; he’s not in the mood to slap on a happy face and deal with some stranger.

“One of his arms is gone,” his dad says.  “He seems sensitive about it, so please be nice.”

“You really think I’d say something?”

His dad chuckles.  “Wasn’t that your method of making friends back in Arizona?  Fight first, friends later.”

“Dad.  Come on.”

Keith is interested though.  He sneaks around the corner and hovers in the darkness of the house, peering out the windows to try to get a peek at this mystery neighbor.  He expects an older man, maybe an army vet or someone his parents’ age (how often does Krolia talk with such a fond tone of voice so soon after meeting them?), when he sees someone entirely different.

He sees someone his age, wearing a thin tight-fitted tank top and beach trunks hanging low on his hips.  He’s holding a surfboard beneath a muscular arm.

Keith stops in his tracks.

He’s...beautiful would be an understatement.  He _glows_ in the sun.  That warmth and pure heart that Keith fears he won’t find away from the desert - he sees it on this man’s face, in his smile.

The man is joking with Krolia.  And Krolia, who is stern with everyone besides Keith and his dad, is... _laughing_.

He really is that beautiful.  And his voice is so smooth. It rolls like the waves, “Decided against the other house?”

Keith kneels down on the ground and scoots closer to the window, trying to hide so he won’t embarrass himself the first dang time they meet.

Krolia says, “Well, it was nicer, but I think my son would’ve hated it and we’re trying to keep him happy.  The view is better here. There’s more charm.”

Kosmo pokes his face into Keith’s space curiously, trying to understand what Keith’s doing.  Keith pets his face, but doesn’t look over, still focused on this neighbor.

He could go out.  He could introduce himself.  He probably wouldn’t even have to with his mom right there, she’d introduce him herself.

But wait.  He’s not ready today.  He just spent all day pressing his forehead to the car window.  His hair’s up in a sloppy bun, his clothes are disheveled and he’s probably still got a scowl embedded on his face and dark shadows under his eyes.  He’ll wash up tonight, get his nicer clothes out of the box he’s sure is _somewhere_ around here, and hopefully, after a full night’s rest tonight, he’ll be bright and sharp in the morning.  First impressions count and he doesn’t want to take any chances with this one.

Kosmo whines softly, nuzzling Keith.  “Stop it,” Keith mumbles, rubbing beneath his collar with a bit more zest.  “I’m doing something.”

Peering over a window like a creeper.

But god, it’s worth it.  ...He’s beautiful. Their neighbor is beautiful.  Keith thinks this has got to be part of some greater design because there’s no way someone this perfectly chiseled and defined and confident could just _end up_ his neighbor.  Good things don’t just randomly happen like that.

He can hear Krolia asking about the local college.  God, she’s talking about him. “He’s a little shy. He has a hard time making friends,” she mutters lowly behind her hand and Keith wants to hit his head against the wall.  “But he doesn’t like depending on us, so I think it’d be great if you could take him and show him around.”

“Yes, absolutely,” their neighbor says.  His voice is so soothing and friendly. Keith closes his eyes and listens, feeling as the irritated knots unwind in his chest.  “I have some surfing lessons to teach this afternoon so I can’t today, but tomorrow’s all free.”

“That would be wonderful.  Thank you. We can pay you for your time.”

“Oh, no, no.  That’s not necessary.  I’d love to help my new neighbors out.  There’s a lot to get to know here and it’d be my pleasure showing him around.”

Keith senses it belatedly.  His hands are in Kosmo’s fur, still petting him without even thinking about it.  And Kosmo, trying so hard to be helpful, teleports them out.

Keith nearly topples face first into the ground, shouting out in surprise.  Kosmo nudges him up with a faceful of kisses before he can fall.

“ _Kosmo!_ ”  Keith curses at the betrayal.

Kosmo wags his tail happily.

“Oh, hey there,” Krolia says from up above.  “Nice of you to drop in. We were just talking about you.”

Keith can see the both of their feet and he wouldn’t mind just staying down here and burying his face in the sand forever.

He can hear the amusement in Krolia’s voice as she tries to conceal it: “This is my son, Keith.  Decided to come out and say hi?”

“Uh...   _Yeah_.”  Trying to salvage as much of this situation as he can, he stands up tall and tugs his clothes into place.  He tries not to fidget or remember what a mess he is. He brings hesitant eyes up to their neighbor’s.

And blinks.

His neighbor’s earlier casual expression is wiped clean off his face.  He stares at Keith in scatterbrained shock.

Keith would ask about it...if he weren’t caught in his own internal panic as well.  God, he knows he’s got to be blushing like mad because, somehow, their neighbor is even more beautiful up close.

“I - um...  Uh...” The neighbor tries to force out.  He’s staring so intensely, Keith is immediately self conscious.

Keith feels at his hair for anything sticking out of it, probably something weird and embarrassing.  God, he knew coming out now would be a horrible first impression. “I-Is there something -? Do I have something-?”

“No!  Uh, no.  It’s not that.  Sorry. I’m so sorry.”  The neighbor shakes himself roughly.  “I swear I’m not usually like this, I just...  You surprised me.”

“Oh.  Yeah,” Keith laughs weakly.  “You’ll get used to it eventually.”

Their neighbor blinks at Keith again like he spoke a different language.

“Y-you know,” Keith mutters, gesturing to Kosmo who stares between the two of them.  “The...wolf... He, uh...he teleports?” He trails off lamely.

“Oh...  The wolf.  Right. Yeah.  I’m sure.”

An awkward silence falls over all of them, which is funny because only a moment before Krolia and the guy had both been getting along just fine.  God, it’s always like this. Keith clears his throat and is about to try to escape like the coward he is when the man shifts his board on his hip and holds his hand out to Keith.  “Where are my manners? My name’s Shiro, your new neighbor. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the neighborhood.”

“O-oh, right.  Nice to meet you too,” Keith mumbles as he returns the handshake.

Shiro’s metal hand is cold, but it moves almost like it’s alive.  He gestures to Kosmo with it, who is still wagging his tail casually at all of them.  “A cosmic wolf, huh? I didn’t realize they could teleport their owners along with them.”

“Ah.  Yeah. Even when we don’t want it...  Always trying to be helpful,” Keith says.

Shiro chuckles warmly, bending down a bit and holding his hand out for Kosmo.

Keith starts.  “Oh, careful, he -”

Kosmo goes up curiously and licks his metal hand with soft care.

“ - Bites...”  Keith finishes lamely.  He lets out an awkward chuckle.  “Guess he likes you. He doesn’t normally like anyone.”

“What a beautiful creature,” Shiro says.  “I’ve never seen anything like it. Where’d you get him?”

“He fell into the desert from the sky.  I saved him from some monsters and he started following me.  It’s just been the two of us ever since.”

Shiro stares up at Keith like he just told him the secrets of the universe.  “...Oh, yeah?” He says faintly.

Keith doesn’t understand the look.  He shrugs awkwardly beneath it, biting at his lip.

Shiro straightens and tugs at his collar.  “Um. Well, if you want, since you’re new in town and everything and I know the sights, I could show you around.”  Shiro says, gesturing vaguely out toward the ocean. “My plans this afternoon just canceled. I can be your tour guide.  Whatever you want to see, I can take you to it. I can show you the best beaches around here. Do you surf?”

“I’ve never tried,” Keith says, “but I’ve always been interested.”

Keith hears a small amused chuckle from beside him.

He blinks over at his mom.  He forgot she was even there.  She has a little smile on her face that dances loudly in her eyes.  Slowly, he sobers. “Oh... I need to help unpack everything...” Keith says.

Krolia nods her head toward Shiro.  “Go. Your father and I have it covered.”

“Are you sure?  I can help. I was coming out here for another box.”

“I’m sure.  Go have fun.  We’ve made good time today anyway.”

Keith gives her a weird look.  She’s being strangely lenient. Usually she’s all about discipline and everyone doing their part.  “Alright...”

“Don’t forget your phone,” she says as she gives him one last wave before heading away.  “Thank you for taking him, Shiro.”

“Ah, yeah.  Nice to see you again,” he calls and then, as he turns back to Keith, his face reddens again.

They stand there together in awkward silence.  Shiro clears his throat and jerks a finger back at his house.  “Mind if I make a quick call? You can come in.”

He steps over the small bushes of flowers that split their yard and leads Keith and Kosmo up his porch.

“I’ll just stay out here,” Keith says.  “Kosmo’s kind of nosy. You might end up with a wolf in your bed.  We’ll be fine. Take your time.”

Shiro laughs and places his board against the side of the house.  “Okay. I’ll be just a sec.” He pushes the screen door open and disappears inside.

Shiro’s house reminds Keith of their new house, cozy and welcoming with sand just everywhere...and for some reason, he feels that knot in his chest loosening again.

He can see Shiro grabbing his phone from the table before stepping into his backyard and closing the glass door behind him.  Even though Keith’s out front and Shiro’s in the back, he can still hear Shiro’s loud rolling voice through the neighborhood.

“Hey, can I get a raincheck for today?  My new neighbors just moved in and I was going to show him around town.”  A pause. “Huh? No. No, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, that’s not the only reason.   _Matt, stop_ .  Yeah, surfing’s important but we can do that any day.   _Lance_.  That’s not appropriate.  Okay. Okay, I’m leaving, but I just wanted to let you know if you guys go down to the beach, I’m not going to be there.  And if I am, you’re not invited. Ha, you’re very funny. I just met him about a minute ago. No, don’t you dare come over.  No. I said no. It’s not because of that. It’s not a date!” He chokes and his voice lowers. “It’s not... Look. This is a big move for them, so let him settle in first.   I don’t want you guys scaring him off. Okay? Good. Thank you. Bye.”

He steps back in and closes the glass door behind him.  “Sorry,” Shiro breathes out, but he’s grinning as he walks through the house.  “Just my friends. Where to first? I’m open to anything.”

“The beach?”  Keith shrugs as the wind picks up and catches him, tossing his hair about.  He reaches up to catch the stray strands and force them behind his ear. The wind is more playful here than he had anticipated.

When there’s no response, Keith turns his eyes up in question.

Shiro is still, staring blatantly.  When he’s caught, he blinks rapid-fire for an entire two solid seconds, tearing his eyes away from Keith with a jerk.  “Uh, beaches,” Shiro blurts out. “Yes. We definitely have those here.”

Keith grins crookedly.  “Yeah? You don’t sound so sure.”

Shiro flares red and rubs at the back of his head with his hand.  “Uh...right. Well, uh, there are quite a few, so I was trying to think of which one to show you first.  Let’s see: tide pools on a lesser known beach _or_ used syringes on the public beach.”

Keith snorts.  “Um...?”

“I’m kidding.  Of course the used syringes are better.”  He’s babbling, face red and eyes bright with frazzled energy.

Keith smiles at that.  He feels more at ease. “Of _course_ ,” Keith chuckles softly.

The tension in Shiro lessens as he notes Keith’s amusement.  He bites at his lip and clears his throat. “Right, off we go, then.”

Keith and Kosmo follow Shiro down the porch and out.  As they cross the road, Shiro turns back to look at Keith’s new house.  “So. Your mom told me you’re from Arizona, huh? I’ve never been, but the pictures of it always look so gorgeous.”

“Yeah, it really is.  It was quiet where we lived.  Peaceful.” He turns with Shiro.  He can see the cacti sitting proudly in the window from here, soaking up the afternoon sun.  “That’s my bedroom.”

“Good choice,” Shiro hums, leaning forward so he can see what Keith points out.  “Cacti from Arizona?”

“Yeah,” Keith says softly.  “To keep a little piece of home close.”  He shifts uncomfortably. “...I didn’t really want to move.  But the alternative was worse, so here I am.”

He thinks of his mom and his dad and how close he is to them.  The distance would’ve killed him. It really would’ve.

Shiro gives him a small sympathetic smile.  “Well, I, for one, am excited you’re here. The house you’re in now was a summertime rental, so it mostly remained empty.  It’ll be nice to finally get to know my neighbor.” He turns back to the beach that’s literally right across the road from them and holds his arms out to the wide open ocean.  “Well, our treacherous journey’s over. Welcome to the ocean. We have tide pools to the right over here, but you’ve got to be careful for when the tide comes in. It can cut you off and trap you, so don’t go too far by yourself.

“This beach is sort of a ‘secret beach’...we try to keep it out of the public eye or else they start getting trashed.  It can get really bad. If anyone gives you trouble when you’re out here, you can come to me. In fact, um...” He coughs into his hand awkwardly as they walk through the sand.  “Want to exchange numbers? In case you need anything. I’m always here to help.”

“Sure,” Keith hums, handing his phone over as Shiro does the same.  He inputs his number and nods down to Shiro’s bare feet. “Is that a Californian thing?”

Shiro snorts.  “The no shoes?”  He rubs at the back of his head in embarrassment.  “Ah, well, you won’t believe how many times a seagull’s come by and plucked my sandals off and away.  Trust me, it’s easier for my wallet this way. Also, did you want to change out of your boots? They’ll probably get a bunch of sand in them this way.”

“Not after your seagull story I don’t.”

Shiro laughs.  “True. Though look at what you’re missing by keeping your shoes on.”  He walks over to the shoreline where the sand is still wet from the ocean’s reach.  With his toe, he draws out a badly done animal. “Know who this is?”

Keith tilts his head.  “Um... A squirrel?”

“No, no,” Shiro says, pulling Keith to the side to see from another angle.  He gestures to the bow on its head.

“ _Oh_ , is that ‘Hello Kitty’?”

Shiro smiles up at him brightly.  “Right. And then...” He looks down and draws another image of the cat turned the other direction, walking out a door.  He waits expectantly.

Keith groans as he gets it and then laughs.  “Goodbye Kitty?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Shiro laughs too.

“Oh, no, that’s so bad,” Keith chuckles into his hands.

“Oh.  Yeah. God.  I don’t know why I just showed you that.  It seemed like a good idea then and now I just -”  Shiro shakes his head sharply. “I’m so embarrassed.  Just forget I ever said that, please.”

Keith is still laughing.  “Trust me, it’s fine. It’s more likely I’ve embarrassed myself far worse than you ever have.”

“Oh, yeah?  I have a hard time believing that.”

“Do you really?  Because literally, I feel like the biggest idiot right now.”  He gestures to himself. “These are the clothes I rolled out of bed with back in Arizona a few days ago before enduring hours of sitting cramped in the back of our car.  My hair’s probably the messiest it’s been in years. And my wolf keeps pushing you off balance. And somehow, this is how I get to meet my new neighbor who’s now leading me around on a tour to my new home.  I’d say that’s pretty embarrassing.”

Shiro just laughs and waves that all away.  “I would not call your state embarrassing in any way.”

Keith finds a small smile growing on his lips.  “You’re just being nice.”

“Cross my heart,” Shiro says, doing just that.  “It’s only the truth.”

“Well, as long as you think so, I guess,” Keith murmurs quietly, looking down and toward the ocean to hide his blush.

Their peace is disturbed by the sound of a group of people coming in behind them.  Keith immediately tenses inside, feeling that knot tighten and wind. Kosmo, sensing his distress, pushes up against him, rubbing his head against Keith’s leg.

“ _Guys_ ,” Shiro sighs as he turns around and sees everyone.  “Did no one hear what I said on the phone?”

People.  A lot of people.  Keith sniffs.

“Hey!  You can’t just bail on us!  We had plans today and I have work tomorrow; you can’t just _cancel_.”

Shiro looks so tired.  “Lance.”

“I’m sorry, Shiro,” someone else is saying.  “I tried to convince him, but you know how he listens.”

Shiro arches an eyebrow.  “And Lance kidnapped you here?”

He shrugs innocently.  “We were just about to head out.  It felt right.”

“And you’re hoarding all the fun to yourself!”  Lance pushes forward. “I want to meet the guy! Fresh blood.  Hey,” he says, locking his eyes onto Keith and holding his hand out.  “I’m Lance. Shiro told me you’re going to the local college? I can show you around.  Shiro has already graduated and moved on to greener pastures, so I’d be the best guide.”  He grabs Keith by the arm and holds them up to the sun, who blinks, affronted at the treatment.  “I thought Arizona was supposed to be like...all sun. This is like that one movie. What is it called?  That one that was popular for awhile?” He snaps his finger as he tries to think of it.

Keith tsks, taking his arm back.  “I’m not a _vampire_ ,” he hisses.

Kosmo takes one definitive step in front of Keith and growls lowly at Lance, baring his teeth.

He jerks back, stepping away slowly.  “Uh. What the hell is that? Some monster or something?”

“Lance,” one of the women grabs him by the arm and pulls him back.  “Be careful.”

“Uh-uh, is that thing friendly?” Lance points to it carefully.

“He bites,” Keith says flatly.

Lance blinks and then they all exchange uneasy glances.

He feels it in his stomach - he’s an outsider.  It’s a familiar feeling.

“...Maybe I should go,” Keith murmurs, already taking a few steps back toward his home.  “I’ve intruded on your day and I have a lot of stuff to do. Unpacking and all that. I’ll see you later, Shiro.”

“Wait, I -”  Shiro hurries forward and grabs Keith by the wrist.  He’s gentle about it. Keith can pull back if he wants.  Kosmo doesn’t make a peep. Shiro leans forward and says lowly beneath his breath.  “I’m sorry. You’re not intruding. If they promise to be good, will you stay?”

Keith hesitates.  If he were at his old school, he’d probably just say, “fuck this” and step out.  He doesn’t care about being social. He’s always been a bit of a lone wolf and maybe that’s why he and Kosmo get along so well.  But there’s a warm glow in Shiro’s eyes that tells Keith he can trust him. Tells him that it’s okay to take this chance.

Keith bites at his lip.  There are scars all over Shiro.  One ripped across the top of his nose.  The arm that’s gone. The bunch of white hair at the front of his head.  Stress? Just something about him emanates understanding.

Keith nods slowly.  “Sorry,” he mumbles, feeling stupid suddenly.  “I’m not good in crowds.”

“It’s okay,” Shiro says, stepping back, that smile on his face again.  “I swear to you they’re the biggest pack of losers you’ll ever meet -”

“- _Hey_ ,” they all protest.

“But I mean that in the most endearing way, of course.”

He goes through them all, pointing them out as he names them.  They smile back at Shiro fondly, and then, in turn, at Keith. “That’s Lance, Allura, Hunk, Pidge, and Matt.  Guys, this is Keith, my new neighbor, and Kosmo, his cosmic wolf.”

They all wave and Keith nods to them awkwardly.

“Seems like everyone’s moving in all at once.  You sure chose a nice time to do it,” Lance says, trying his best to be friendly.  “I’ll let you in on a secret.” He gestures Keith forward and mutters conspiratorially behind his hand.  “There’s this mega hottie who just moved in nearby. She looks like she’s _Galra,_ and _boy_ , is she beautiful.  If you’re single, you’re in luck.”

Keith blinks.  Is he being serious?

Shiro whispers in horror, “ _Lance_ .  Shut _up._ ”

“What?”  He asks in obliviousness, head whipping around to Shiro.

Keith mutters lowly, rubbing at his temple, “Uh...the Galra...with the human husband...?”

“I didn’t see a husband,” Lance shrugs casually.  “But she lives in that house. Over there.” He points to Keith’s new house.

Keith presses his lips together tightly and tries to say as steadily as he can, “...She’s my mom.”

Lance chokes and immediately goes red.  Shiro closes his eyes, looking very much like he’s praying for death.  Everyone else tries hard not to laugh but fails.

“...Well, uh, _that_ explains a few things,” Lance mumbles into his hand as he tries to play it off like it’s nothing.  “I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to make things awkward right off the bat which is actually _exactly_ what I did, but -”

“No,” Keith coughs awkwardly.  “No, don’t worry about it. Let’s just never talk about it again.”

“Right.  Right, good idea.  I mean, she’s beautiful.  I didn’t think she was like... _mother_ age.  She just sort of -”

“Oh, god.  Lance. Stop.  You’re making it worse,” Allura is chuckling into his shoulder as she gathers him into her arms to pull him away.

Matt leans his weight onto Pidge’s head, who literally just looks like a smaller version of him.  “That disaster aside, you said you’d surf with me today,” he says to Shiro. “I brought your board.”  He holds it out hopefully.

Shiro takes it and holds it, but he shakes his head.  “Sorry, Matt. I told Keith I’d show him around. If he still even wants to hang out with us, that is.”

Keith chuckles.  “I don’t mind; it’d be cool to see you surf.”

“Yeah?”  Shiro’s eyes light up like stars.  “Really?”

Keith smiles back.  “Go for it. I’ve never seen someone surfing in real life.”

They hold each other’s gaze for a moment and it’s nice.  There’s something about Shiro that’s easy and comfortable for Keith to get lost in...until Keith senses Pidge staring at him and he averts his eyes, cheeks flaring red.

“Well, you’re in for a treat,” Matt says.  “He’s ridiculously well-known around here. He used to win a bunch of awards when he was younger.  You should see his trophy room.”

“The bottom of my closet?”  Shiro laughs as he gives Keith one last encouraging smile before turning toward the water.

But he doesn't get far before Pidge says, “Hey, Matt, seriously?  Get your butt back here. You forgot the number one beach rule.”

Matt frowns back at her in confusion, thinks for a second, and then shrugs.  “What?”

She brings a bottle of sunscreen out from her bag.  “Skin safety, brother of mine.”

“But I already...”  He trails off as she communicates something between their gaze.  She raises her eyebrows and then flicks a look to Keith. Matt’s lips perk up in a mischievous grin.  “...Ah. Ah, right. Shiro, how about you?”

“I’m fine, Matt,” Shiro says.  “I already did it a few hours ago.  It’s okay, take your time.”

“A few hours?  Shiro, you know better.”

Lance blinks in interest, picking up on the conversation.  “Yeah! You have to reapply at least every hour! With skin as fine as yours?”

“Ah...it’s not that fine,” he frowns at the both of them in confusion.  “I’m okay. Seriously.”

“Nuh-uh-uh,” Lance continues, grabbing him by the shoulders and carting him closer.  He sits Shiro on the ground beside Matt and Shiro just sighs, going with the flow.

“Okay, okay, fine,” he sighs.  “You’re right. Skin safety.”

Lance steps away and attends to Allura.  “Well, I can’t do it. Allura needs help.”

“I can’t do it either,” Pidge says, clapping Matt on the shoulder.  “Matt’s choosey about who does his sunscreen. It’s got to be just right.”

Shiro just reaches for the sunscreen himself when Pidge swats his hand away.  “You can't apply it properly yourself. Shouldn't someone else get you?”

Shiro shoots them all confused looks and then leans forward.  “O...kay... Hunk?”

“Uh.  Sorry, Shiro.  I, uh...” He looks around himself desperately and then holds up his hands.  “I’ve got a rash. It’s contagious. Like _really_ bad.  You can’t see it because it’s in an _undisclosed location_ , if you know what I mean, but...yeah, it’s definitely contagious.”

Lance laughs.  “Ew. Hunk. Man.  You went too far.”

“What?  A rash is a normal human thing.  Nothing to be ashamed of.”

Lance and Pidge start laughing harder, pressing their faces into their arms to try to snuff it out.

“I guess that leaves Keith, then,” Matt shrugs.  “Think you can help Shiro out?”

“Uh...”  Keith’s face goes red as he shifts awkwardly.

Shiro picks up on their scheme and splutters.  “G-guys! This isn’t -!”

“I don’t mind,” Keith says.  “Really.” Someone with Shiro’s broad wide back _would_ need help getting sunscreen on.  That’s not a lie. And Keith is just standing there.  Might as well be useful.

“Oh - Keith - No, you don’t have to.  They’re just teasing.” Shiro’s already rolling forward to move away.

“It’s fine,” Keith coughs to clear his throat.  He stops Shiro with a touch of his hand. “It’s true: skin health is important.  You should look after yourself.”

Shiro watches his face closely, scoping out any signs of stress or discomfort.  Keith’s a little awkward, but if Shiro doesn’t mind, he doesn’t. Slowly, Shiro settles.  As he turns, Keith sees just how red with blush his neck and back of his ears have become.

With a smile she's trying hard to fight back, Pidge holds out the bottle for Keith.  He takes it and uncaps it. The nervous buzzing in his hands is enough to distract him from the giddy looks and tittering going through Shiro’s friends.

“Your skin kind of already looks like it’s burning,” Keith hums lowly as he kneels beside Shiro and very carefully places his hands on his shoulder, spreading the cream out.

Shiro’s back is so fucking beautiful.  Keith works out sometimes, but not like _this_.  This takes dedication.  This takes spirit. Keith’s so impressed he’s a little breathless as he feels the ripple of muscles beneath his hands as Shiro shifts.  When Shiro speaks, his voice rumbles from his chest and Keith can feel the vibrations in his hands. It feels strange against the tingling already in them.

“Yeah...” Shiro says.  “I’ve sort of been out in the sun since morning.  I’m usually more careful. Just a busy day, I guess.”

“I’m sorry.  I’m keeping you from -”

“-It’s okay,” Shiro chuckles, tilting his head back to smile up at Keith.  “Really. It’s my pleasure bringing you out here.” He grimaces sympathetically a bit as he catches sight of Keith.  “You know, we’ve only been out here for a few minutes, but it looks like you’re already burning.”

It’s true.  The top of Keith’s arms are red and if they’re already growing angry in these few minutes, then surely Keith’s face isn’t faring much better.

He wrinkles his nose.  “Oh man, yeah. I burn super easily.”

“Well, let me help you,” Shiro murmurs, grabbing the bottle and shifting back so that he can reach Keith.  “Is-is it alright if I -?” He gestures to the bottle and then looks up at Keith, asking permission to touch him.

Permission.  To touch Keith.

Rewind a half hour ago and Keith was creeping in their new house afraid to even talk to this new stranger.  And now...?

Keith finds himself nodding, staring transfixed at Shiro’s elegant fingers.

Shiro lifts his hand and grazes it carefully across the top of Keith’s nose and cheeks.  It tickles a little - the soft fluttering of a butterfly’s wings against exposed sensitive skin.

“Um...”  Shiro expels a winded gust of air from his lungs.  His cheeks are burning redder than Keith’s sunburn.  “Thanks, Keith,” he says, pushing himself up and escaping with his surfboard.  He jerks a thumb at his back. “For the help.”

Keith coughs into his hand.  God, his face is burning and it’s not from the sun.  “Y-yeah. Yup. Definitely.”

Matt claps his hands together excitedly and stands beside Shiro.  “Alright, Shiro, time to shine. The waves look good today, not that you can’t tame a lesser one.”

“He’s like a dolphin,” Lance says, leaning into Keith and nodding at Shiro.  “He’s a _legend_ on the waves.”

Pidge is grinning.  “The dolphin with the most trophies.”

“Guys, stop,” Shiro fidgets.  “You can’t just pump me up like that.  We all just love what we do and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah, and can dolphins even surf?”  Hunk asks.

Lance tosses his head back dramatically.  “Of _course_ they can surf, Hunk.  Didn’t you see that article about the dolphin surfing with the guy in Australia?”

“We’re not in Australia,” Hunk protests.

“The _point is_ ,” Matt continues over them.  “Shiro’s the best in the area.  We meet up on the beach often. You should join us sometime.  Get some lessons from a pro.”

“Wow,” Keith raises his eyebrows.  “I didn’t know you were that good.”

Shiro shakes his head and rolls his eyes.  “Don’t listen to them. They live to embarrass me.  But of course you’re welcome to join any time. I have some extra boards in the garage that might work for you.  You can try them all out and see what suits you.”

“I actually am a pretty shitty swimmer,” Keith admits, feeling embarrassed in the presence of a bunch of surfers.

“We can work on that too,” he says encouragingly.

“Come on, Shiro!”  Matt calls and Shiro smiles at Keith one last time before heading off to the water.

Lance takes a moment away from his girlfriend to spear an umbrella into the sand and set their beach towel out beneath it.  Pidge and Hunk dig through her bag and take out two more towels to sit on.

“Hey, new guy,” Pidge gestures him over.  “You and Kosmo can share my towel with me.  Trust me,” Pidge murmurs lowly to Keith, conspiratorial glint in her eye.  “You don’t want to have to share with Lance and Allura when the two of them are together.  They’re _embarrassing_.”

“Oh, come on,” Lance snorts.  “We’re not that bad.” But he still has his hands on Allura’s back from the sunscreen session, rubbing his thumbs into the tense muscles there as she loosens beneath his touch.

Pidge gives Keith an exasperated look and mouths, “ _embarrassing_ ”.  As Keith takes a seat, muttering a small, “thanks”, Kosmo wedges himself between Keith and Pidge.  “And besides,” Pidge says happily, offering her hand out to Kosmo, who allows it, and she begins to pet through his shining fur, “I’ve always wanted to make friends with a cosmic wolf.”

Keith turns and watches Shiro running through the sun, as confident and at home as if this beach were his room.  Keith can hear Shiro saying to Matt through laughter, “I’m so mad at you right now. All of you. You’re all dead to me”.

Matt laughs out a deeply amused, “You should’ve seen your _face_ .  You should be thanking me.   _Thanking me._ Oh man, I wish I managed a photo.”

They’re laughing and pushing each other as they make it to the ocean’s edge and from the little hint of mirth in Pidge’s eye, it looks like she knows what it’s about.

A seagull approaches behind them and Keith looks over, worried it might be aggressive.  Or trying to steal something. After Shiro's sandal story, Keith feels like he can't be too careful.  Lance perks up immediately, on the defensive.

He thinks Keith is looking at Allura.  She’s laying out in her bathing suit, the small strips of cloth tied around her back not leaving a lot to be left to imagination.  Lance is still rubbing sunscreen over her shoulders. At this point, it’s definitely not about skin health, but Allura sure doesn’t seem to mind it.  Keith thinks he gets what Pidge meant about embarrassing.

“Hey, man,” Lance says, waving his hands in an ‘x’ at Keith.  “Eyes to yourself. Not cool.”

Keith snorts but rolls his eyes away.  “Trust me. You don’t have anything to worry about.  I’m completely 100% gay,” he mutters.

Lance and Allura turn to each other with their eyebrows raised and hum out interested, “oh”s.  Somehow, Keith thinks they look like they’re celebrating for some reason, eyes bright with glee.

“...What?”  Keith frowns at them, knot tying in his stomach again.  He’s seen this before. If they start laughing, he’s not afraid to clock them out.

But when Allura smiles over at him, it’s not in jest, it’s sweet, a little softer almost.  “Oh, it’s nothing,” she assures him. “Are you in a long distance relationship with someone from...Arizona, was it?”

“No,” he says.  “Nothing like that.”

She hums, a lyrical interested sound.  He catches the look she gives Lance again.  He’s about to ask when Hunk, who is laying out like a starfish beside Pidge, asks, “So why’d you guys move to the beach if you can’t swim?”

“My dad’s a firefighter and he was transferred here.  I could’ve stayed back on my own, but...I dunno. Sometimes it’s better to be with family.”

“Yeah,” Pidge hums and it sounds like she really does understand.  “It really is. Well, I think you’ll like it here. Especially since you live right next to Shiro.  You couldn’t be luckier honestly. I’m a little jealous. We’ve all lived here our whole lives and Shiro’s the best of us.  Hunk is the only one who hasn’t grown up here since birth really, but he came here...what? Was it middle school?”

“Yep,” Hunk lifts a lazy arm in the air and gives her the thumbs up.  “I was like an innocent little lamb back then. Shiro’s the one who took me in and under his wing.  He’s good like that.”

He is good like that, Keith can already tell.  He’s doing the same for Keith and he doesn’t even know Keith.  Keith can see him out on the ocean, a small little figure, but no less filled with power and control.  Shiro makes it looks so effortless swimming out on the waves. The way the water boils out from beneath the surface, and how Shiro catches it, rising up with such grace, the water chasing after him in falling layers as he flies beneath its tunnel.

He is the very definition of elegance and beauty.  He looks like a god, bending the waves beneath his feet.

“Whoa,” Keith whispers.  He doesn’t even realize he’s said it.  He had been brushing Kosmo’s head subconsciously, but even that movement has stopped.  All he can do is stare in awe in the face of this new beauty. He feels something blossoming anew in his chest.

“He’s something, isn’t he?”  Allura says knowingly, smiling at Keith’s reaction.

Pidge clears her throat loudly beside him.  “He’s not seeing anyone, you know,” she grins over at him, trying to press down an even wider smile.

He arches an eyebrow down at her.  “...Um?”

“Just throwing that out there.  He used to be in a really serious relationship with this other guy for years.  But they’re over now. Totally over.”

“Hm,” Keith tries to hum with disinterest, but he’s not sure if it’s working.

Shiro is beautiful.  Keith knows it probably hasn’t even been an hour since they met, but there’s that little spark, that good feeling in his heart.  That good _rare_ feeling.  It’s undeniable.  It’s not just about Shiro’s face, or even about his body, even though those are both off the charts sort of gorgeous.  It’s also the way his friends talk about him, the way he was able to soften Krolia so easily...and Keith too. There’s just something about him.

“He hasn’t dated since,” Pidge says and her voice starts to dip.  The playful edge shrinks leaving way to hesitancy. “Honestly, I thought he’d never be over it.”

“Me too,” Allura says, but her tone is happy somehow, like something’s changed.

Keith just purses his lips and watches.  Shiro’s done with his wave and he’s just sitting, bobbing in the water, watching as Matt goes for his.  Matt is good too, it’s obvious that it’s natural for him, but there’s something missing about the way Matt surfs that was in Shiro’s posture.  Maybe it was that raw thrill that sparked something in Keith’s chest as he watched. The eagerness of it. The way Shiro could _feel_ the wave as freedom parted for him - just like Keith had been able to feel the desert’s floor speeding beneath him as he raced into the horizon.

He’s biting at his lip without even noticing it.  He loves the spirit here. The passion he sees in Shiro’s posture as he begins to paddle out again.  ...He didn’t know he’d find it after he left the desert, but here it is.

He doesn’t notice the way the others are all giggling to each other or how Kosmo is tilting his head and sticking it in Keith’s face, wondering what’s up with him.

Shiro is amazing.

But there’s something about the way he carries his arm, like he’s scared of it.

Before he can remember his manners, Keith finds himself asking, “Does his arm hurt him...?  He carries it strangely.”

Pidge hums lowly.  “Nah, not physically anyway.  It's been awhile since it's happened, so it's pretty much healed.”

“Huh...”

“You look confused,” Pidge laughs.  “If you have questions, I can probably answer them.  Shiro wouldn't mind.”

“Oh, I just...it's okay in the water like this?  Sand doesn't get in it?”

“Oh, it does.  I just take it off and clean it for him.”

“You can do that?” Keith blinks in surprise.  “Wow...”

Pidge chuckles.

“...What happened anyway?  To his arm?”

“Oh...”  Allura frowns.  “...I have to apologize.  It’s a bit of a sore spot for us all.  There’s a group that hangs around here sometimes.  The ringleader’s name is Lotor.”

Pidge says,  “Shiro’s ex - he and Lotor’s group, they...clashed.  And Shiro tried to help, like Shiro always does, and got caught in the middle of it.  It really hurt him. Physically and...deeper. It was a huge mess. There’s always been a lot of tension but it snapped that day.  But that’s a story for Shiro to tell you when he’s ready. I’d wait until he brings it up himself. He’s sensitive about it.”

“Yeah,” Keith says.  “Of course.”

They’re already paddling back.  Keith thinks he probably could’ve watched Shiro surfing all day and he’d be beyond content, but it’s nice to see him shining brightly over him again.

“Hey,” Shiro breathes as he runs through the sand toward them, his forelock clinging to his forehead and a big grin on his face.  There’s a golden blissful radiance about him that warms Keith’s heart. It’s easy to forget about everything else around them. Any problems, any worries are swiped right out of Keith’s mind.

It helps that Shiro’s shirt is still off.  Completely, blissfully off, the water running down his golden abdomen.  He definitely has at least a six-pack. He’s looking right at Keith, all of his attention reserved for him.  “What’d you think? Something you could get into?”

Keith is still too stunned to respond.

Pidge snickers and says lowly, “he’s talking about the surfing”.

Keith chokes, forcing words out of his throat.  “ _Yes_.  Definitely.  Surfing? It was amazing.  I could really feel your passion.”

Lance is overcome by laughter behind them and Allura shushes him, trying to cover his mouth with her hand.

“But Allura, he could _feel_ Shiro’s _passion_.”

Keith doesn’t notice what they’re saying or how they’re behaving because he’s too focused on the way the water is hanging off Shiro’s hair, tiny droplets catching the sunlight.  And the pink blush over Shiro’s cheeks. The way he blazes with genuine happiness at words that were just the truth.

“It’d be my honor to teach you,” Shiro says softly.

“The honor would be mine,” Keith murmurs.

Kosmo is uncomfortable.

Keith’s not one to fawn.  In fact, he’s never done it.  Kosmo wants Keith to be happy, but this is something else.  This is something Kosmo’s never had to deal with and he doesn’t understand it.  All he knows is it looks like Keith’s not of his right mind, the others are laughing at him for some reason, and Keith’s not doing anything about it.  So, obviously, it’s left up to Kosmo to fix things.

With one sure movement, he nudges Pidge’s hands out of his fur and then pushes against Keith, teleporting him out of there.  They land right in the water.

Keith squawks as they both fall in.  It’s only chest-high, but the water is actually pretty freezing.  Keith hadn’t expected it, or _teleporting_ for that matter, too far caught in Shiro’s eyes, and so when a wave comes overhead and crashes down, Keith doesn’t even think to grab onto Kosmo to have him evacuate them immediately.  He only has enough time to groan out, “ _Kosmo_ ” and then he just gets hit by the wave.

He topples through the water.  It all happens too quickly for him to even collect himself.  There’s a lot of sand and a lot salt and a lot of both in his lungs and, by the end of it, he’s not sure where the heck he is or where the sky is versus the ground.

But then there are hands on him and he’s choking up sand and inhaling large gulps of air.

“ _Keith_ ,” Shiro worries as he pulls Keith closer to shore so that his feet can touch the ground.  “Just breathe. You’ll be okay.”

“Ugh, _Kosmo_.  Trying to kill me...”  he mutters lowly, coughing up some more water.  But he’s fine. Just irritated. Everyone’s probably back on shore wondering what the hell Keith’s case is.  His cheeks burn with embarrassment, but not the good kind.

“You alright...?”  Shiro asks in concern.

The water sways them back and forth and it’s kind of nice.  Kind of cold.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Keith nods quickly, peering over at the shore where Kosmo waits curiously, safe.  “I say you’ll get used to the teleporting thing, but sometimes I have no idea what that wolf is thinking...”  He sighs but then turns his eyes up, looking into Shiro’s wide worried eyes. A smile quirks up on the corner of his lips.  “...Thanks for coming out to save me. I’ll admit I was a little worried when I saw that wave come overhead. I used to be terrified of the water.”

Shiro hums lowly.  “You don’t know how to swim?  Not at all?”

“Well, kind of?  I’m sure I could figure it out.”

Shiro chuckles.  “I can give you lessons,” he assures.

“Yeah?  You give such basic lessons?  I don’t want to waste your time.”

“Time in the water with friends is never a waste, trust me.”  His eyes light up with the light from the sun as he has an idea.  “...In fact, that’s your first assignment.”

“Wow, we’re starting already?”  Keith chuckles, but he reaches out for Shiro’s hands as he offers them.

“Well, we’re already in the water.  And it’s an easy lesson. It’s simple: your first lesson is to trust me.”  Shiro nods to Keith. “Close your eyes.”

He turns to the waves rolling in and pushing at them.  He looks back to Shiro. He closes them.

“Know how to float on your back?”  Shiro asks.

“Maybe?”

Shiro chuckles.  “Okay. Try it.”

“I’ve...only ever been in a pool,” Keith admits.  It’s different in the ocean. There’s life. Movement.  Energy.

“It’s okay,” Shiro says.  “I’ve got you. I promise.”  He presses his hand beneath Keith’s back and lifts him slightly.  “Lean back...” he murmurs softly. “Chin up... Good. Relax a bit or it won’t work.  Lift your chest a bit...” Keith can hear the warmth in Shiro’s voice even as his ears are submerged.  “You’ve done this before.”

The water rolls around him and Keith smiles slightly.  “No.”

“Well, you’re a natural...  How does it feel? Anxious at all?”

“No,” Keith says honestly.  “I’ll admit I hated any swimming lessons my mom tried to force me into when I was younger, but...”  This. Learning from Shiro... Well, that’s perfectly alright by him.

“Well, now’s the perfect time to learn,” Shiro hums, his hands still held at Keith’s back, gently grazing against him as the waves rock them back and forth.  “You can open your eyes now,” Shiro says and Keith looks up into Shiro’s bright grin. “You pass your first lesson.”

“That was easy,” Keith flips over and finds his toes against the floor, grabbing onto Shiro’s hands for support.  Shiro leads them both out of the water and they walk up the shore where Kosmo awaits, wagging his tail happily at Keith, who pats his head.

“You’re a good student.”

“No, you’re the good teacher.”  Keith laughs, dusting the sand off himself.  He smiles up at Shiro. “Thanks for coming to save me.”

“Yeah, of course,” Shiro says, smiling back at Keith warmly.  And they just hold each other’s gaze for a moment.

Even though Keith is wet now and he had been cold before, somehow the temperature doesn’t feel as jarring as it had before.  It could be that Shiro still has his hand supporting Keith’s arm. Or maybe it’s that melted fluttering beating of his heart that he’s feeling.  The sand beneath their feet seems the shimmer in the sun's light. The ocean is cold, but...Keith wouldn’t mind Kosmo dumping him into it again if it means Shiro will come drag him out next time too.

Shiro breaks off their look by tilting his head toward the sand.  “Look. And for my next trick-” He gets his toe and writes out in big words across the sand, _Welcome to California, Keith_.  Of course his penmanship is neat and tidy.

Keith grins down at the words.  He reaches down to pull his boots off which are heavy with water.  He tosses them up on drier sand before toe-ing beside Shiro’s message a large, _Thank you, Shiro_.

Shiro grins over at him.  The waves come up and wash the message away, but Keith’s heart still feels warm.

Shiro nods them back up.  “Come on, let’s go.”

Matt’s taken Keith’s place on Pidge’s towel.  “Everything alright?” He asks.

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

“That’s almost a shame,” Lance leans over behind Matt and mutters to Pidge, “Because then Shiro could’ve done mouth-to-mouth-”

“ _Lance_ ,” Shiro chokes out, but Keith’s too busy frowning at all the water dumping out of his boots as he turns them upside down.

“Got to invest in some good sandals,” Hunk says.  “Boots aren’t really great for the beach. And if you'll be hanging out with us they're not going to last.”

“Yeah,” Keith grunts.  “I brought some, I just haven’t unpacked anything yet.”

Pidge groans.  “Oh, god, just promise me you won’t pull a Shiro and come out here with Crocs.  I swear if the fumes wouldn’t kill us all off, I’d just go buy out the whole store and burn them all so no one could wear another pair again.”

“Guys, come on, is it ‘Embarrass Shiro day’ or something?”  Shiro groans.

Matt laughs.  “And get this, Keith, he came out here wearing them all _proud_ , like he discovered this new secret or something.  He’s like, ‘guys, have you heard about these shoes before?  They’re called _Crocs_.  They’re the comfiest things you’ll wear.  Like pillows for your feet.’”

Shiro just groans in agony.

“And the thing is,” Lance continues.  “He’ll still wear them sometimes.”

“He wore them to my house the other day,” Hunk nods like it’s this huge tragedy.  “He walked on my _floors_ with them.”

“Hunk, you too?”  Shiro despairs at the betrayal.

“Tell him, Keith,” Pidge is laughing as she points to Shiro.  “He’ll listen to you. They’re haunting us all. We can’t go on this way.”

Keith snorts, looking between all of them in amusement.  Keith shrugs as he smiles. “Well, have you tried them?”

Everyone stops for a moment like their brains can’t compute.

“You too?”  Lance hollers, busting a lung laughing.

“Noooo,” Pidge wails in despair.  “I trusted you! I thought you were cool!”

Keith chuckles and shrugs.  “My mom got me a pair for Christmas one year.  They _are_ comfortable.  Sometimes you have to know when to prioritize comfort over style.”

Shiro grins like the sun, tossing an arm around Keith.  Keith laughs beneath it. It feels like they’ve been best friends since forever.  “I _knew_ I had a good feeling about you from the second I saw you,” Shiro says.  “Don’t listen to them. Like I said, they live to embarrass me.”

Matt snorts, “You're always giving us such good material though.”

“Well,” Hunk says.  “At least Shiro didn’t try the ‘Hello Kitty’ joke.  We're safe for now.”

“Yeah!”  Lance chuckles, “We wouldn’t have to work to embarrass him at that point, he’d do all the work himself.”

Shiro says, “Hey!  That joke is _funny_ .  Keith _laughed_.”

They all groan and burst into more laughter.

“I can’t believe this,” Matt is cracking up through tears as he shoves his face into his hands.  “You’ve actually...” He can’t even talk he’s laughing so hard, wiping the tears from his cheeks.  “You’ve actually found someone who’s as corny as you.”

“Come on, guys.  It’s a clever joke!”  Shiro protests, but he’s laughing too, his eyes warm as he looks down at Keith, who smiles back.

This feels good - laughing together.  It feels natural. The usual tension that comes with not knowing a group, the way his words get knotted up and his mood sours...none of that is happening now.  It’s warm on this beach with these people. And Keith thinks...really thinks...maybe, just maybe, he could actually enjoy it here...

Isn’t home just where the heart is?

He’s letting the thought sit in his head for a moment when Pidge grunts in the back of her throat.  “Watch out. Asshole alert.”

Keith turns to where she’s looking.  Up on the sandy hill walking down a few meters from them is that young man with long shining hair.  He's Galra, like Keith's mom, and he looks sort of ethereal, the same sort of strange foreign beauty that Allura has.  But when he looks over and makes eye contact with Keith, there’s something cold and sharp in his eyes, something Allura doesn’t have.

Lance’s expression immediately darkens.  “...Lotor.”

Allura hums softly from where she lays, turning her face to look at him.

“He’s not that bad, guys,” Shiro tries to say rationally, but everyone cuts him off with groans.

Matt says, “Yeah, if ‘not that bad’ means ‘total douchebag’ in Arizonian.”

“It doesn’t,” Keith says and Matt chuckles.

“Just ignore him,” Pidge says lowly.  “Like Allura said: he’s bad news, but he’ll keep to himself if you don’t antagonize him.”  She shoots a pointed look at Lance.

“I won’t do anything,” he mumbles, scooting himself so his back is turned to Lotor and he won’t have to see him.

Despite what Pidge said about Lotor leaving them alone if he’s not antagonized, he turns from his path and comes marching over.  Tension rises in everyone. Even Shiro’s usual cheer is twisted out of his eyes. He shifts, holding onto his prosthetic with the hand that’s left, a subconscious movement that Keith catches.

Lotor plants himself firmly in front of them, blotting out the sun.

“This isn’t a place for tourists, Shirogane,” Lotor hums, eyeing Keith.  “I thought that rule was clear, even to you.”

“Hello, Lotor,” Shiro says as pleasantly as he can.  “This is Keith. He’s not a tourist, he’s my new neighbor.”

Lotor assesses Keith through sharp eyes, his gaze falling to Kosmo with a pinch of his brow.  “And I suppose the mutt is here to stay too?”

“His name’s Kosmo,” Keith frowns and crosses his arms over his chest tightly.  Sometimes you just know with people. This feels like another one of those times.

“They’re fine, Lotor,” Shiro sighs.  “They won’t cause any trouble.”

This.  This is something that Keith is used to.  Just like back at home: the looks down noses.  The tight assessing glares. Keith was wondering if maybe people were just different by beaches, but he suspects now it might just be Shiro who is.

“Well,” Lotor hums.  “Welcome to the neighborhood, Keith.  Where’d you move from?”

“Arizona.”

“Ah, the desert.  Judging by the boots you brought with you, I’m guessing you have little experience with beaches.  This must all be quite a shock to you. You poor thing.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Well, if you ever need help with something, my friends and I know everything there is to know about the beaches around here.  You’re free to ask us. Unlike some, we actually know what’s going on in these beaches.”

And the tension rises just a bit more.  Shiro and the others shift around Keith uncomfortably.  Kosmo pushes his way forward to guard Keith. Keith just rubs his hands in his fur to soothe him.

“I’m alright actually,” Keith says.  “Shiro’s already got that covered. But thanks.”

Lotor’s eyes flash as he flicks his gaze to Shiro’s.  “Well...since you already know so much about this place, how about we skip the introductory and just play a friendly game of volleyball?  My team against yours?” He asks, looking around at them, eyes settling on Shiro’s. “A ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ sort of game. How about it?”

Keith understands the tension buzzing through the air all too well.  School had never been easy for him and he's learned to adapt. He huffs out a sharp and bitter, “ _No, thanks_.”

Lotor chuckles.  “Seems like he’s got a bit of a temper.  Kind of like your last boyfriend, hm?”

Shiro goes as tight as a rail, but he reigns it in.  It’s Lance who no longer holds back. “Okay, that’s it!  Fine! We’ll play your stupid game! And we’re going to kick your ass doing it!”

“No.  Lance,” Allura sighs, pushing him back.  “You mustn’t let him get to you.”

Lotor tsks in a low voice full of amused taunting.  “Allura, even you don’t want to play with me? You used to.”

Allura tosses a perturbed look at him.  Shiro draws in a tight breath. He’s clenching his hand so tightly that Keith wonders if it’s drawing blood.

“Let’s.  Not. Fight.”  Allura says through gritted teeth, hands still on Lance’s shoulders.

“Maybe we should leave...”  Lance mutters. “We can go to another beach.”

“But we just got settled,” Hunk groans, but he’s already gathering his sunglasses and towel.

“Let’s just go,” Matt say.  He mutters lowly, putting a hand on Shiro’s shoulder for support, “You okay?”

Shiro nods sharply.  “Yeah. I’m fine.” He pushes a smile onto his face as he turns to Keith.  “Sorry, Keith. Next part of the tour?”

Keith can tell Shiro doesn’t want to leave.  They’re being forced out, like rats being exterminated.  Keith hates that. Shiro’s been so kind. Maybe Keith doesn’t understand the specifics of the situation, but he understands the next bully as well as the last.  Keith’s never been the type to let one get away with such behavior.

He turns back to Lotor.  “I’ll play,” he says clearly.

A sharp smile grows on Lotor’s lips.

Pidge chokes, grabbing Keith by the arm and pulling him back.  She murmurs lowly so the others can’t hear, “Uh. No. Bad idea.  Very bad idea. I get what you’re trying to do. We all want to protect Shiro.  But don’t. It’s better just to leave. There’s a long history here you don’t understand.  This isn’t just a game of volleyball. After everything, if Shiro loses to Lotor again, it’ll _crush_ him.  And he’s sort of working really hard to impress you right now, so don’t let it happen.  Come on. Let’s go.”

Keith turns from Pidge to look at Lotor.  He assesses him. He can probably take him.  Besides, it’s volleyball, not a knife fight.

He looks to Shiro.  His brow is furrowed with a bit of concern, but he’s not protesting, not even in his eyes.  He’s leaving it up to Keith.

Keith’s heart tugs at that - that genuine kindness weaved into Shiro’s soul, so much a part of him Keith already feels like he knows it.  Keith wants to do this for him.

“One game,” he says boldly, holding up a finger.  He nods Shiro forward and smiles slightly. “Want to be my partner?  It’s just a game. We can have fun, can’t we?”

“Mm...”  Shiro hums softly.  “...Yeah. Yeah, we can.  You any good?” His voice brightens.

“Come and find out.”

Keith is, in fact, very good at most everything he does as long as it doesn’t involve socializing like a normal person.  His high school used to love volleyball...and Keith used to love getting his aggression out through it.

Lotor is no slacker, though.  What Pidge and the others are all watching with is worry for the loss, not suspense.

Until they see Keith play.

He’s never played on a beach.  The ball is lighter, the ground is...well, sand.  It’s uneven and soft and slips beneath his feet, but Keith is Keith and sports and winning is sort of his thing.

“You’re good at this,” Shiro breathes in delight as Keith dives and saves another masterful toss from Lotor.

Keith tosses a grin up at Shiro from beneath his bangs.  “You’re not too bad yourself.”

“So, how long have you two known each other?”  Lotor asks.

“Uh,” Keith mutters, not letting his focus be torn from him as he pours all his focus into the ball.  “I just moved here today.”

“Yes, but you’ve known each other before, haven’t you?”

“No,” Shiro answers for Keith.  He’s good at volleyball too. Keith has a feeling he’s good at everything he does.  “This is the first time we’ve met.”

“Huh,” Lotor mutters, tossing a look between them both.  “Well, you make a great team,” he says, but it doesn’t feel like a compliment.  “For a rebound.”

Shiro chokes, off his game immediately, and he misses the ball.  It flies past him and skids through the sand.

“Uh,” Shiro forces out, turning stiffly to grab it but Keith is already there.  “...Sorry, Keith.”

“No problem.”  Keith tosses it back to Lotor.  “We’re not dating.”

“No?  With the eyes you two have been giving each other?”

Keith chuckles.  On the outside, it sounds quiet and soft, but there’s bite to it.  A sharpness that could tear. “They’re my eyes to give.”

“It’s just interesting,” Lotor says.  “How people can move on.”

“Lotor, please don’t do this,” Allura sighs from the sidelines.  She looks exasperated.

“Do what?  I think I’m asking an honest question here.  I heard he and Adam were going to get married.”

“ _Lotor_ .  That was _years_ ago. Let it go.”

“After just one little incident?  Adam must’ve really loved you if he left you right after your accident.”

Shiro goes grey.  Really grey. The ball flies past him and hits the sand.  Keith watches him.

“Hey,” he says softly, walking through the sand to Shiro.  “Are you okay?”

“I-It’s fine, Keith,” Shiro replies, but he can’t even manage a smile.  

“Why don’t you serve this time, Keith?”  Lotor says with a cocky grin.

Now he gets why everyone wanted to just leave.  Pidge was right. Even if they're winning, this game is just Shiro getting crushed.

They could leave.  That’d be the best route.  The high road. Shiro seems like a ‘high road’ kind of person.  They could just leave the ball, turn around, and go.

But Keith stalks through the sand and grabs the ball between a tight grip.  He’s mad. The quiet kind of mad that doesn’t show on his face but he can feel coursing through his bones.

 _Don't do anything stupid_ , he tries to tell himself, but his nails are digging into the ball.  His Galra blood is burning in his ears.

Keith turns toward Lotor.  “I don’t think Shiro is any of your business,” he says.

Lotor chuckles slightly, shrugging.  “You’re all always trying to be the hero, hm?  Look how that worked out for Shiro.”

There is a split second where Keith blacks out and he spikes the ball.  Hard.

He hadn’t really meant to.  And Lotor hadn’t been expecting it.  No one had, if the surprised stunned looks on everyone’s faces is any indication.

It hits Lotor right square in the face with a sharp _crack_ .  The force of it sends him flying back and he hits the ground with a small _“oof_ ”.  Sand flies everywhere.

His friends all swarm him in horror, asking if he’s alright, turning glares at Keith.

Keith bites his lip.  Okay. ...Alright, maybe that was a bad idea.  Shiro doesn’t seem like the spiteful type. Keith probably took it too far.

He dares to take a peek at Shiro’s reaction - he’s blinking at Lotor, almost more stunned than anyone else.

“I-I’m sorry,” is about to leave Keith’s mouth when he jumps as someone begins to laugh.

It’s Lotor, sitting in the sand, bleeding from his nose.  “...Okay,” he says simply, tossing his hands in the air. “...Okay.  Looks like you’re going to fit in around here just fine. All my worry for nothing.”

His friends are giving him strange looks.

“I was wrong.  You’re not like Adam,” Lotor says.

Keith stares back at him hard.

“Let’s go,” Lotor hums, smiling as if this is the most interesting thing that’s ever happened to him.  His teeth glint in the sun. “Welcome to California, Keith.”

“...Thanks,” Keith mutters as they pass him by.

He turns to Shiro, who has taken a seat in the sand, watching everything happen through a furrowed brow.  “I...I really am sorry,” Keith says. “I didn’t - I mean, I did mean it... I have problems with my anger sometimes.  I swear I’m working on it... He was being cruel to you and I -”

“Are you kidding me?”  Lance comes pushing his way through, eyes wide with bright excitement.  “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen happen. I think you like...earned his respect or something, man.  The way he was like...’nevermind, going home to run to _Mommy_ ’.”  He cracks up.  “Lotor would never do that...but he _did_ .  That was _so cool_.”

Keith frowns, looking down to Shiro.  “You okay?” Keith asks. “That’s uh...not really something I wanted to do on the first day I met you...”

Slowly, Shiro smiles up at him.  Relief is there, more than just on the surface.  He starts to laugh. “Yes,” Shiro chuckles into his hands, pressing his fingers over his face.  “ _Yes_.  More than.  That was amazing.  You're amazing.” His eyes are so warm.   "Lotor's the type of person who is...difficult to handle.  I can’t believe he just walked away from you willingly like that.”

“Yeah!”  Lance is still pumped up about it.  “No one even cried this time!”

“Stop it, you,” Allura sighs, reining him in.  “Can’t you see they’re having a moment?”

Shiro laughs brightly, leaning his head against his arm and grinning up at Keith.  “...Thank you, Keith. It means a lot that you’d stick up for me like that. You don’t even know me.”

Keith shrugs, feeling a bit of heat creep up his neck again that he tries to play off.  “Well, he was a huge prick. And besides, you didn’t know me either. I was just some creep whose wolf teleported him into the middle of a conversation you were having...but you helped me then even though you had no reason to.”

“I’m glad I did.”  He smiles up at Keith from between his hands.

“Yeah?”  Keith mutters, tilting his head to scope out Shiro’s face.  He offers a hand out to Shiro. “...I swear I’m not usually that violent.”

Shiro chuckles, reaching up to take it.  Keith pulls him to his feet and he brushes himself off.  “I believe you.”

“Some people just need a good classic butt whooping,” Matt says, smiling at Keith with newfound respect.

“Good aim, Keith,” Pidge says.  “And nice speed. For it to get around Lotor’s defense...that’s pretty impressive.  He's kind of known as the volleyball god around here.”

“Yeah,” Hunk says.  “Next time, I want you on _my_ team.”

Keith smiles at all of them.  They’re gathered around like he’s part of their friend group, and not just a trailing nuisance.  ...He’s never been part of a group like that before.

“Thanks,” Keith says faintly.  He turns to Shiro, whose hair is outlined in gold from the evening sunset.  “But Shiro and I seem like a pretty good team.”

Shiro’s grin is like the sun.

 

He and Shiro walk along the old abandoned bridge, Kosmo following loyally behind.  The others have all gone home and it’s just the three of them, enjoying the cool breeze, the melodic sound of the waves breathing back and forth.  The warm lights of the boardwalk in the near distance reflect across the shore like stars. The moon is high in the sky. They can see the ocean from here and though Keith had been so grudging earlier, he is really starting to see the beauty in it now.  It’s easy to be here, beside Shiro.

“Maybe tomorrow I can take you to the boardwalk,” Shiro murmurs, face tilted down as he tries to concentrate on walking a straight line with the wooden boards.  “The music might not be your thing, but sometimes it’s nice to just...lay out on the beach in the dark and watch a concert going on. What do you think? I’ll buy you dinner.  It could be fun.”

Keith’s smile is gentle.  He doesn’t respond right away.  He’s just thinking how he can’t believe it hasn’t even been a full day since he got here and already, it feels like things are so very different in his heart.

Shiro takes his silence as hesitance.  “I, uh - sorry. I made it awkward. And now that we’re neighbors, I uh...I knew I shouldn’t have said that.  I knew it. I’m sorry. Pretend I said nothing? Just uh, rewind time a bit?” He laughs nervously.

Keith laughs too, but his is softer, amused.  “...I’d love dinner,” he says gently.

Shiro swings around, eyes wide.  “Y-you would?”

Keith nods.  “...It’s not everyday you meet someone who can surf like a god.”

Shiro laughs.  “Oh, come on. Not you too.  I just love it. That’s all. Everyone’s worried after I got my arm that I wouldn’t be able to compete, but they’re all off the mark.  I can still do what I love. That’s what counts.” He’s quiet for a moment. “...I feel like you know what I’m talking about. You have that little glow in your eye.  The glow of understanding.”

“‘Glow of understanding?’”  Keith snorts. “We do seem to have a lot of similarities.”  He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in, feels the way the cool night air fills him.  “At home, I had this hoverbike... And god, the rush of the wind through your hair, the loud beating of your heart in your ears.  It was just this incredible surge of joy rushing through you, like nothing could ever be bad. Like nothing could touch you. Moving away from it all sounded ludicrous.  I thought I’d never feel that again.”

Shiro hums, saying, “that’s how I feel out on the ocean.  Pure unadulterated freedom. Like everything’s right in the world.”

“Yeah,” Keith whispers, leaning in, eyes bright.  “Like, no matter what happens, you’ll always have that peace if only you can just return there.”  He turns his eyes out toward the ocean. “You were beautiful out there,” he whispers. “...Maybe someday, I can find peace out on the ocean too.”

“I think you can, Keith.  You’re a natural. I’m telling you.”

Keith smiles and rubs at his reddening nose.  He clears his throat roughly. “Ah, well, even if I’m not...my uncle’s moving with us too and he promises to bring my hoverbike.  Do you know any good places to ride it?”

Shiro grins, “I know a few.  Wait until you see the roads out by the redwoods.  I have a feeling you’re going to love them.”

“Do you ride?”

“No, but I’ve always been curious.”

“Well, I can bring you!”  Keith leans forward excitedly, grabbing Shiro’s hands in his.  “It’ll fit the both of us. There’s nothing like it! The feel of the wind racing through your hair, the power of the wheels against the earth...  You’ll see. And I sort of owe you...for what you did for me today.”

Shiro’s smiling, already about to downplay it, but Keith shakes his head sharply.  “No. Really. I heard what my mom said earlier and it’s true. I...have a really hard time making friends, trusting people.  But god, there’s just...there’s something about you. About all of you. I know this sounds batshit _insane_ , but it just...it feels right.  All of this.”

Shiro moves to take a step forward and then sees Kosmo pressing himself against Keith’s thigh and he hesitates and laughs softly.  “...I think the same thing, Keith. It’s strange, you moving in right next door. Do you know how long that place has been empty for seemingly no reason?  It’s almost like fate.”

“Almost like fate,” Keith whispers, leaning in.

They both jump as his phone goes off.

“Oh, dammit,” Keith mutters, peeking down at the screen.  “My mom’s mad... ‘I said a _day_ , not a day and a night’.”  He snorts. “We should probably start heading back.”

“Yeah, of course.  I’m so sorry.” But neither of them move.

Keith can see the stars in Shiro's eyes and he doesn't want to leave them.

“...Thanks, Shiro.  For today. I was feeling really shitty about the move, but I, uh...I feel better about it now.”

Shiro’s face softens.  “Of course...”

They stand there awkwardly, the moonlight pouring over them as they linger together on this old forgotten bridge, neither of them wanting to leave.

“Maybe, we should, uh...go,” Keith laughs nervously, pointing behind him.

“Right.  Yeah. You’re right.”

But as Keith takes a step back to turn away, Kosmo teleports him.  It’s only a few inches, but it’s enough, and Keith falls right up against Shiro’s chest.

“ _Oh_ ,” Keith breathes, blinking his eyes up at Shiro in shock.  He opens his mouth to apologize - damn Kosmo - when Shiro, all defenses apparently gone, can't help himself and he captures Keith in a kiss.

Warm.  So warm.

It’s gentle.  It’s so soft and sweet, small heart beat against heart beat as their chests press together.  As Shiro gathers Keith in his arms and pulls him in tightly.

Their awkward shyness doesn't exist here.  It's like the stars orchestrated this. And Keith can hear it's music, feel just how right this is.

It's like Keith's been waiting for this and never even knew.

He swallows hard as Shiro gently pulls back, keeping his hands on Keith's waist as he looks into his eyes.

“...I think, uh...  I think I’m starting to get used to it a little bit,” Shiro whispers.

Keith blinks at him in confusion.

“The teleporting,” Shiro laughs.

They both turn to Kosmo, who’s watching them with his tail wagging.  Keith laughs too.

“Always trying to be helpful,” Keith murmurs.  “...I’m not mad about it tonight.”

“No?”  Shiro whispers, tilting his head slightly.

“No,” Keith leans up on the tips of his toes and kisses him again.

 

Keith’s new house is lit up and warm when he gets to it.  His dad is already asleep, but his mom is in the shower, so Keith sneaks by into his new room, taking a shower of his own.

The warm water feels good.  He hums to himself.

He climbs the ladder and looks up into the loft.  His mom has already set up his bed, of course. She’s put on new sheets.  His pillow and blankets. She's always quietly spoiling him.

Keith smiles at the sight.

He walks over to the window, peering out.  He can see, down below, as Shiro pulls out a few surfboards from his garage and inspects them carefully.  Shiro seems to sense Keith’s stare and looks up. He stops as he takes in the sight of him. His face breaks out into a big grin and he waves.  Keith laughs a little, waving back. Shiro points at the boards and then points to Keith. _For you_ , he mouths.

Keith shoots him two thumbs up and he glows.

He feels the familiar woosh of Kosmo teleporting behind him and then a soft, “hey.”

“Hey, Mom,” he hums, turning from the window as Shiro heads inside.  She’s in her pajamas. It’s late. She doesn’t seem mad though as she takes a seat at the end of his bed.

“You were out late.”

“Yeah...sorry,” Keith says.  “I didn’t mean to be out that long.  Time just slipped away from us.”

“Is that so?”  She hums, brushing his hair back from his face as he goes to sit beside her.  “How’d it go? You liked them?”

“Uh...”  He lets out an awkward laugh.  “It went really well actually. ...I liked them all a lot.  Shiro is... He’s _amazing_.  You should’ve seen him surf.  We’re going out again tomorrow.  He has some boards we’re going to try.  He, uh...he offered to get me dinner. He’s going to take me to the boardwalk.”

“The boardwalk, huh?”

Keith presses a smile down.  “What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Yeah?  Because it sounds like it’s something.”

She laughs softly.  “Oh, it’s just I could’ve _sworn_ someone told me that they hated the boardwalk.  I forget who though...”

He lets out a small breathy laugh.  “Mm...I dunno who would tell you that.”

“No?”  She chuckles.

“No.  Wasn’t me.”

She laughs fondly as she works to detangle the knots out of his hair.  “Wow,” she says, her voice low and happy. “That was fast.”

“Yeah...  Yeah, I know, it’s...  Yeah.”

She smiles wide, turning knowing eyes at him.

He arches an eyebrow at her.  “I see that.”

“See what?”  She hums, patting him on the back before getting to her feet.  “I’m really glad you’re liking it here, Keith. You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.  I was hoping you’d be happy here.”

“Don’t dodge the subject.  I see that ‘I told you so’ on your brow.”

She chuckles warmly and crosses her arms, watching him fondly with a tilt to her head.  “...Well...he’s sort of perfect for you, isn’t he?”

Keith doesn’t say yes because he knows it’s plastered all over his face.  He feels it in the heat warming his cheeks and the smile on his lips he can’t seem to fight off.  “...I think I’m going to like it here,” he allows himself to admit. He leans over and hides his face in Kosmo’s fur, who’s cuddled up cozily in Keith’s bed.

She smiles knowingly before giving him one last warm pat on the shoulder.  “Goodnight, Keith. Sleep well.”

As she begins her climb down the stairs, Keith looks out the window.  He sees Shiro’s porch light flicking off and Keith smiles. “...Goodnight,” he says softly.

Maybe change isn't always so bad.

He thinks of Shiro's bright face and his heart flutters.

He can’t wait for morning.


End file.
